Poor in Pride

 “And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭6‬:‭20‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Dr. Luke writes, “Having concluded His healing of the multitudes, Jesus lifted up His eyes and spoke to His followers, To be reduced to the most extreme state of poverty, does not define you.  Disaster is not the fruit of fate or karma (performance based religion).  The blessing of knowing that the Kingdom of God belongs to you personally (it is oozing from you), is the essence of your well-being and identity.”  God requires us to be poor in pride and not imagine us to be more than we are, thinking highly of ourselves.  The concept of fate has been predominant in most religions as well as in Greek and Roman cultures and is the driving force of performance based philosophies and religions, relying on self and pride.  Lucifer was an angel closest to the Presence of God, beautiful and a worshipper.  But pride and imagining himself to be like God, led to his fall to become satan.  Since then he has deceived people against God.  Jesus came to set it right by proclaiming that being poor in pride is the way to God’s Kingdom.  The Almighty All-Powerful God humbled Himself to be born as a helpless Babe and then to become the Sacrifice as the Lamb of God to take away the sin of the world.  Let’s believe in the simplicity of this truth and be poor in pride.  Amen!

Raise Your Children with Godly Values

 “A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children: And the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just. Much food is in the tillage of the poor: But there is that is destroyed for want of judgment. He that spareth his rod hateth his son: But he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭13‬:‭22‬-‭24‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Wisdom from above says, “The benevolent man leaves an inheritance that endures to his children’s children, but the wealth of the wicked is treasured up for the righteous. The lovers of God will live a long life and get to enjoy their wealth, but the ungodly will suddenly perish. If you withhold correction and punishment from your children, you demonstrate a lack of true love. So prove your love and be prompt to punish them.”  Many of us have taken for granted the legacy that came to us from our parents and grandparents with a sense of entitlement but it comes from God.  Those who don’t find the way of life destroy many years of wealth and some are utterly destroyed.  Corporal punishment was common when parents disciplined their children with love in their hearts wanting their best to learn godly values and clean living.  Unfortunately today the system looks for excuses like mental health issues to excuse parents from their responsibility so that children grow up to be irresponsible in society.  When it is a genuinely medical issue, the medical world is there to help, but in general children grow up to be indisciplined with a huge sense of entitlement which is a terrible combination.  If we love our children, discipline is necessary.  Amen!

Jesus Christ Alone Awakens the Mind

 “And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭5‬:‭31‬-‭32‬ ‭KJV‬‬

As Luke recorded, “Jesus overheard their complaining and said, “Who goes to the doctor for a cure? Those who are well or those who are sick? I have not come to call the ‘righteous,’ but to call those who know they are sinners and bring them to repentance.”  Sickness is a form of evil in God’s eyes.  Jesus came to heal the “evil” or sicknesses of earth.  He didn’t come to re-define the self-righteous but those who realise they couldn’t get it right by themselves.  Jesus came to awaken ‘sinners’ to recognise their identity through Him with a complete change of mind.  Sin is to live out of context with God’s image and likeness in mankind, to behave out of tune with God.  It is only through the Lord Jesus Christ we can have an awakening of the mind and a realignment of one’s reasoning.  That’s why the preaching of the Gospel is so vital, that people realise it’s not self-righteousness (trading our deeds to please God) that transforms people but just allowing God’s Word to cleanse and transform us.  Amen!

The Life-Giving Word of Encouragement

 “The hand of the diligent shall bear rule: But the slothful shall be under tribute. Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop: But a good word maketh it glad.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭12‬:‭24‬-‭25‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Wisdom from above says, “If you want to reign in life, don’t sit on your hands. Instead, work hard at doing what’s right, for the slacker will end up working to make someone else succeed. Anxious fear brings depression, but a life-giving word of encouragement can do wonders to restore joy to the heart.”  Proverbs not only means a wise saying but it means “to rule, to reign in power, to take dominion”.  The one who reigns must stop worrying and think instead of what brings gladness.  Our focus must never be on what we can’t change but on the everlasting joy we have in Christ.  Sometimes we have to find the  life-giving Word of encouragement rising up in our own hearts.  This is the secret of finding perpetual encouragement by the Word that lives in us.  The Word that our Lord Jesus Christ speaks to us is Spirit and Life.  Let’s abide in the Word and the Word dwell in us.  Amen!

The In-Christ Anointing

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, Because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, And recovering of sight to the blind, To set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭4‬:‭18‬-‭19‬ ‭KJV‬‬

As Luke recorded, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, and He has anointed Me to be hope for the poor, healing for the brokenhearted, and new eyes for the blind, and to preach to prisoners, ‘You are set free!’ I have come to share the message of Jubilee, for the time of God’s great acceptance has begun.”  This is what Isaiah had prophesied of the Messiah hundreds of years ago.  The Anointed Christ is the Good News or the Gospel.  For those who have identified with Christ’s death, burial and resurrection and are in Christ, this same anointing is the true measure of our lives.  It is not our mental or muscle efforts that produces results, it is only the anointing.  This in-Christ anointing is the glad tidings of the Year of Jubilee of opening the blind eyes to change the perspective and look upwards and see Christ; to bring freedom to those in trauma and hurts through deliverance, shutting that door with forgiveness and remission of sins; and knowing that we are accepted in the Beloved.  This in-Christ Anointing breaks every yoke of bondage and we release it to a needy world.  Amen!

Wisdom for the Humble to Succeed

 “A false balance is abomination to the LORD: But a just weight is his delight. When pride cometh, then cometh shame: But with the lowly is wisdom.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭11‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Wisdom from above says, “Dishonest business practice is something that Yahweh truly hates. But it pleases Him when we apply the right standards of measurement. When you act with presumption, convinced that you’re right, don’t be surprised if you fall flat on your face! But humility leads to wisdom.”  A false balance is deception when we try to measure up to God with our own works and performance.  But the Perfect Stone is Jesus Christ Who is the legitimate weight of balance.  He has been promised to “the one whose heart is open, let him listen carefully to what the Spirit is presently saying to all the churches. To everyone who is victorious I will let him feast on the hidden manna and give him a shining White Stone. And written upon the White Stone is inscribed his new name, known only to the one who receives it.”  Jesus is the shining White and Perfect Stone given to the humble who are willing to receive from the Spirit of God the wisdom that comes from the Mind of Christ which is in direct opposition to the mindset of self-effort.  But the proud who are presumptuous, and think they know everything, can’t get the Mind of Christ and the wisdom that comes with it, and they come a cropper.   Amen!

Get Rid of Sin Forever through Christ

 “And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭3‬:‭3‬ ‭KJV‬‬

As Dr. Luke recorded, “John went preaching and baptizing throughout the Jordan Valley. He persuaded people to turn away from their sins and turn to God for the freedom of forgiveness,”  the definition of repentance has two concepts.  One is turning away from sin, the other is turning to God for freedom.  They are linked together as one word translated “repentance” and the concept is  returning to God to unite with Unity.  This message was revolutionary in that day for the religion instituted that forgiveness was temporary found by offering sacrifices in the temple.  Here, John was declaring that repentance was a heart issue, not gained by an animal sacrifice offered in the corrupt religious system.  Repentance, breaking open the heart, is more important than gaining forgiveness by religious acts.  Jesus started His preaching with, “Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.”  Unless we recognise that sin separates us from God and that Jesus’s Blood sacrifice is our only hope and the judgment He took on our behalf, we will be under God’s judgment, forever separated from Him and eternal Life of God will not be our portion.  Amen!

The Blessing of the LORD is Christ in Us

 “The lips of the righteous feed many: But fools die for want of wisdom. The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, And he addeth no sorrow with it.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭10‬:‭21‬-‭22‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Wisdom from above says, “The lovers of God feed many with their teachings, but the foolish ones starve themselves for lack of an understanding heart. True enrichment comes from the blessing of the Lord, with rest and contentment in knowing that it all comes from Him.”  We are righteous by the Blood of Jesus and it is the Word of Life and Living Bread to the hungry.  Only the foolish reject it!  The blessing of salvation is only in Jesus and in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.  This true blessing of the LORD, is our true enrichment and there is no labour or sorrow attached to it.  All that is required is our free-will choice to have faith in the judgment that Jesus received on the Cross on each of our behalf, Who became sin for us so that we might be the righteousness of God in Him.  All the money in the world cannot buy our salvation, it is only the Blood of Jesus that redeemed us. It is the finished work of the Cross that is our true and eternal riches without any sorrow - just have the faith to believe this.  Amen!

Jesus - Mankind’s Peace

 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, good will toward men.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭2‬:‭14‬ ‭KJV‬‬

As Luke wrote, “Glory to God in the highest realms of heaven! For there is peace and a good hope given to the sons of men.”  God’s greatest delight is mankind.  He loved us first even when we were at our worst.  Jesus exhibits God’s happy delight to be human.  For God is satisfied to have all His fullness dwelling in Christ.  Luke’s Gospel is the Gospel of peace.  The four prominent sacrifices in the old covenant are emphasised in the four Gospels.  In Matthew we see the death of Christ in the figure of the trespass offering; in Mark the sin offering; in Luke the peace offering; and in John the burnt offering.  The peace God gives us is emphasised in Luke’s Gospel, which is why the angel’s announced peace and hope.  On the day of His resurrection Jesus said, “Peace to you.”  Jesus exhibits God’s happy delight to be human as He gives peace to us.  This peace is only for those who believe that Jesus died to forgive humanity’s sins, bless by taking all their curses and heal every sickness reconciling us to our holy Father as His children.  Amen!

Wisdom Through Calvary’s Cross

 “She hath killed her beasts; she hath mingled her wine; She hath also furnished her table.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭9‬:‭2‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Wisdom from above says, “She has made ready a banquet feast and the sacrifice has been killed. She has mingled her wine, and the table’s all set.”  As mentioned earlier Christ is made to us the Wisdom of God.  The sacrifice here points to Calvary.  Wisdom’s pillar is the Cross.  Wisdom’s feast teaches us the ways of God.  We feed our hearts on revelation-truth that transforms us; then we implement with wise strategies the understanding we have learned at the feasting table. Wisdom from above is always pure, filled with peace, considerate and teachable. It is filled with love and never displays prejudice or hypocrisy in any form and it always bears the beautiful harvest of righteousness! Good seeds of Wisdom’s fruit will be planted with peaceful acts by those who cherish making peace.  Let’s act on the true Wisdom from above which is our true identity in Christ - Christ in us the hope of glory - feasting on the Bread of Life and focused on the sacrifice of the Blood of the Lamb of God.  Amen!